


A Twisted Affair

by BettyHT



Category: Bonanza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 07:46:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16322096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BettyHT/pseuds/BettyHT
Summary: In San Francisco, Adam found someone, but that relationship will be threatened by what happens at home. Hoss has landed the Ponderosa in deep financial trouble whcih may doom Adam's new relationship before it has a chance to develop. If you like twists and turns, you'll find them in this story.





	A Twisted Affair

A Twisted Affair

Chapter 1

There had always been stories told of how your life could flash before your eyes in an instant. Never one to believe that, Adam Cartwright found once more that he ought not to dismiss such ideas so easily as all that he had dreamed of having and all that he had built so far flashed through his mind. He knew there was a probability he might be going to destroy it all in his next act and yet couldn't think of a way not to do it.

"You can't shoot me. If you do, who would believe you that it was in self-defense? You, a man fast with a gun, up against a paralyzed man sitting in a wheelchair unable to do even the most basic things for himself since your brother drove that wagon over him and ruined his life." The man in the chair grinned then in that way he had that showed no humor. The pistol he held against Hoss' head was a small caliber, but that wouldn't matter if he fired it into the temple where he had it pointed. Hoss didn't stir. Apparently he was out cold after ingesting some kind of drug because a glass lay near him with the dark liquid staining the rug where it had spilled.

In order to buy time, Adam had to keep the man talking. "Tell me, was it all a set-up or did you concoct the scheme after the accident? Or was it an accident at all?"

"Oh, you're beginning to understand it now, aren't you. No, it was no accident. I've made what appeared to be my original fortune out of a couple of these little 'accidents' and draining funds from a couple of rich men until they wouldn't pay any more. Usually they're willing to settle for some final exorbitant sum to ship me off to some relative I name who lives in some far off place. Of course, they never even bothered to check to see if I had a relative. They wanted so much to be rid of me and the memory of what they had done. The first one was in England, and the second one was in Canada. Now, I'm here and was about to substantially increase my fortune once more by doing the same to your family."

"But my father ruined all that, didn't he? He wanted you to see the finest doctor and perhaps have medical treatment. He brought the doctor here at his expense. You couldn't allow that though, could you, because it would expose your scam but you couldn't refuse him either without arousing suspicion. You could refuse another local doctor, but how could you refuse a specialist? Once that doctor saw how your muscles weren't wasting away, the game would be up."

"My, my, you do know quite a lot about things like this. Yes, of course that would be a problem. I had the feeling that you were getting too suspicious and knew that might be the case ever since that wretched woman showed up. I heard from some friends at the bank that she was wealthy. When your father said he had the million in escrow, I knew where it had come from. Now what little scam did you work to pull her into your plans?"

Not wanting to get into any discussion of Juliette, Adam focused instead on why he knew so much about why Denton had to avoid seeing a specialist. "I had an injury like that once. You didn't act the way I thought someone in that situation should act."

"Ah, I didn't know that. Well, it all makes sense now why it was all going to go up in smoke. I thought I would help it along when you so conveniently showed up here too and I could simply remove you before sending this one on his way too so I could be free to go for my money. Now I have another plan in mind entirely."

"What's that?" Adam hoped that by keeping the man talking, he could think of some way out of his dilemma but his thought processes were hampered by the emotional turmoil he had already suffered since arriving home from the timber camps. First Hoss and then Juliette had turned his world around and he wasn't sure any more of his future.

"What do you hope will happen by keeping me talking? Do you think that somehow the situation here will improve somehow?"

Desperately hoping that very thing, Adam evaluated it point by point and knew that hope was futile. They were in a suite far from any help. Denton's torso was partially shielded by the post of the bed and obscured by shadows so that any aim would be guesswork. He kept his head back behind that post, and any attempt by Adam to move so that he could see him better had been met by threats to pull that trigger ending Hoss' life immediately. The only clear shot he had was of the man's hand holding the pistol to his brother's temple. To draw with speed and with assurance of hitting that and knocking it safely away from Hoss' head was too big a gamble. His father was following him but likely wouldn't be here soon enough.

"If you kill him, you know I'll kill you."

"Perhaps or perhaps, I'll kill you. I know you'll be in shock seeing a big hole in your very large brother's head. There, I could see you flinch even with that suggestion. Now, let's talk about what I want. You're going to get me that exorbitant payment I suggested, and you're going to see that I get a horse to ride away on. I don't know how you came up with a million dollars to put into escrow, but if you did that, you can get the money I asked you to get. All you need to do is drop that pistol and tie up your brother first."

There was something about how Denton Betencourt said it all that let Adam know it was a lie. In fact, most of what Denton was saying was contradictory so it couldn't be the truth. He was going to kill both of them as soon as Adam gave up his pistol. He would probably claim that they had been threatening him. With Adam's pistol out, there would be evidence of that too. There was only one action left for him to take, and it might lead others to condemn him if it worked. As he moved to drop his pistol, he made sure to keep his eyes carefully focused on Denton's hand, and he talked.

"This plan won't work either. The doctor who saw you realized you were able to sit upright and he saw your muscles hadn't wasted at all. He saw movement in your arms and legs. With his expert credentials, he told the prosecutor who dropped the charges against Hoss except for minor ones that will be for a fine only."

Knowing the news would shake the man's confidence, he dropped the pistol only about two feet in front of him and did it slowly and deliberately bending down so that he could be sure it fell with the grip positioned for him to easily pick it up and fire it. He had carefully moved the cylinder while pulling it from his holster so that there was a bullet ready to be fired. As soon as he saw Denton begin to straighten his arm to fire at Hoss, he dropped to his knees scooping up the pistol. Denton was even more startled by that and raised the small pistol to fire at Adam, but it was too late. A large hole blossomed in the man's chest even as surprise registered on his face. He was dead, and Adam guessed that his life, as he knew it, might be over.

Only about two months earlier, Adam had met a brown haired woman in San Francisco and thought he had finally met the woman who could share his life. She was taking some classes at the college where he had been asked to teach a short class on shoring up mines with the honeycomb method. Leaving class one day, he had bumped into her literally and knocked a book from her hand. He picked it up and apologized profusely for his behavior. Because he had been intent in talking with some students, he had not been careful to watch where he was going so the collision had been his fault. Accepting his apology graciously, she had been very ladylike and moved away with a gentle smile. Intrigued, Adam looked for her the next time he was on the campus and wasn't disappointed. As he left his class the next day, she was there again. He hurried to walk beside her.

"I promise not to be so oafish today. I am sorry about how we met."

"We didn't exactly meet. We collided." Her voice was melodious and showed that she was well educated.

"Well, then, perhaps we should introduce ourselves now. I'm Adam Cartwright, a rancher from Nevada."

"You are very forward, Mister Cartwright." It was said kindly though.

"Yes, well, I'm only here for a short time so I didn't want to miss the opportunity to meet you."

"Perhaps another day." It was a polite rebuff but a definite one.

With that, she had turned and gone her separate way. Watching her walk away, Adam muttered to himself. "It won't be that easy, my lady. You fascinate me. I'll find a way to get to know you better."

The next day, he let his class go five minutes early with an assignment so that he could be seated next to the walkway in the hopes that she would walk by again. She did, and he noted she couldn't quite hide the smile that seeing him produced. He gave her his best dimpled grin in response. In fact, she initiated the conversation this time.

"You again?"

"I am known for persistence."

"Some might refer to it in less positive terminology."

"A smile each day doesn't bother you, does it?"

Then she had relented and smiled back at him. "No, in fact, it is nice to have a handsome man smile at me in the morning. It does make the rest of the day seem better."

"There, now we're making progress. You called me handsome. That's in my favor, and I take it you like my smile. Could I know your name?"

"Why?"

A little taken aback, Adam answered honestly. "I would like to know you better, and a name seems a good place to start. It is difficult to hold a conversation with someone if all you can say to start is 'Hey, you!' don't you think?"

"You are charming. Is there more to you than that?"

"You could sit here beside me and we could talk, or I could walk with you if you wish. You could find out more about me and tell me a little about yourself."

"I have a little time to sit."

During the next hour, Adam found out that Juliette was a widow with a young son who was in school, and while he was there, she was taking classes.

"Why?"

"Don't you think women should be educated?"

"I didn't say that. I wondered what you were studying. I'm sorry if you took it another way. It was not my intention to sound critical."

"I'm sorry too. Perhaps it is because when I say that to most men, I get their disapproval whether they state it or not. I can tell. I should not have assumed you would be the same."

"Thank you. Now, perhaps we can get back to why you're taking classes."

"My late husband made a lot of investments, and that is what I need to support myself and my son. I don't want to trust all of it to some men who tell me what to do as if I am too stupid to know what to do. I want to understand what is happening with our money so I'm taking classes to do that."

"That's very wise."

"Thank you. I'm glad you understand."

Actually Juliette was more surprised than anything that he seemed to think it was a good idea. Other men she had told had looked at her as if she had espoused some heresy. Curious about what he was doing there, she asked.

"I'm teaching a class." He got the surprised look from her then. "I'll refrain from being offended that you're so surprised I could be teaching at a college. I've worked as a mining engineer as well as an architect. I have been to college. I'm teaching a short class here on the use of the honeycomb system of shoring a mine."

"Now it is my turn to apologize for making assumptions. I thought you were taking classes not teaching one. I did wonder what a rancher from Nevada would be studying at a college here."

When he asked if she would go to lunch with him so they could talk more about their perceptions and preconceptions as well as possible misconceptions, she grinned and then agreed more quickly than was probably proper, but she was intrigued with him. Never before had she met a man who showed such respect for a woman's thoughts and ideas. It was refreshing to be able to talk to a man who didn't show open disdain for her opinions. She did wonder if it was all part of his charm, but over the next few weeks, she learned it was his true personality and began to fall in love with him. Her son, Michael, was wary of the dark haired tall man who visited their home, but Adam's easy way, his singing, and his charm worked on Michael too. By the time Adam finished his class, he invited Juliette and Michael to visit the Ponderosa. However, Michael was still wary of Adam taking the place of his father as a man in their home so Juliette wasn't sure that was a good idea.

"Adam, Tobias has only been gone a little over a year. Michael still misses his father. Sometimes I fear he thinks that somehow his father will come back. He's only five years old. He doesn't understand how permanent death can be. I've tried to explain it to him, but surely you must know how difficult it can be for a boy that age. He's very bright, but that doesn't necessarily mean he understands concepts such as that. You told me about your little brother and how he wanted his mother to come back after she died."

"Yes, that was a difficult time. I'll try to be sensitive to that, but you can't let it stop you from living your life as you want to live it."

"I won't, but I'm saying it may take a bit more time."

"Would it help if I stayed here longer? I could wire my family and let them know I was going to be delayed for a week or two."

"Only a week or two?"

Standing in the small garden at the back of her home in the late evening, Adam stepped closer to her. He had held her hand and walked with her arm in his. They had sat close together in carriages and at the theater, but he had shown great restraint in not pushing her to any physical intimacy. However, the time had come to show that theirs was more than a platonic relationship. He put his hands on her waist and drew her close to him dropping his head down to kiss her cheek and then kissed softly up across her nose to the other cheek before lightly kissing her lips. When she didn't object, he slid his hands around to her back and drew her closer moving his lips to hers and drawing her into a more passionate kiss which she returned as her hands moved to his neck and her fingers twined into the curls at the back of his neck. When they broke the kiss, he didn't release her but whispered to her.

"Yes, a week or two because we're at an important stage in our relationship. We showed that with that kiss. I want to court you. When you come to the Ponderosa, I want you do decide if that is someplace you could live even for part of the year."

"Adam, this is so sudden." But Juliette knew it had been coming and in her dreams, had thought about that very possibility. "I don't know about Michael."

"If those are your only objections, then I think you have agreed."

Sliding his hands a bit lower, Adam pulled her against him again and kissed her once more with passion. She slid her hands up his chest as his hands roamed across her back until she called a halt before things progressed too far, but she did invite him to come back for breakfast the next morning.

"We'll talk about the future."

"I like the sound of that."

"You were pretty sure of yourself when you brought it up, weren't you?"

There was no denying it so all he could do was grin once more. After all the time they had spent together, there hadn't been much doubt in his mind that she was interested. The wild card was Michael, but he had some ideas on that too although he would have to see how that would play out knowing that there were many possible ways the boy could react when he found out that Adam was going to be more than a visitor. He didn't know that their kisses had been witnessed and that the major confrontation with Michael would occur the next morning. He walked to the front door with Juliette and gave her one last soft kiss before leaving. The trip back to the hotel seemed short with so many thoughts to occupy his time.

Chapter 2

In the morning when he returned for breakfast though, Juliette met him on the front veranda of her home and looked a bit frazzled. "It's not a good idea for you to come inside this morning."

"Michael?"

"Yes, apparently he saw us kissing last night. He came downstairs looking for me and saw us in the garden. I already talked to him about privacy and how he shouldn't have been spying on us like that. Once he saw us, he should have gone back to his room and waited."

"I suppose he doesn't see it that way."

"No, he's very upset, and I guess, even angry."

"Will you let me talk with him?"

"Adam, he's very upset with you. I don't think he wants to talk with you."

"Do you trust me?"

There was a slight hesitation, which he understood. They had only known each other for a few weeks, and Michael was her son. However she did nod.

"Then trust me that I have some understanding of how he feels, and I think I can help him if you'll give me a chance. If you need to be nearby, that's fine, but I want to talk with him with the two of us only."

Reluctantly, Juliette agreed. Once Adam stepped inside the house, he was met with a red-faced angry boy.

"I don't want you here." Juliette told him that he should speak respectfully.

"But I don't want him in our house."

Dropping to one knee to be on a level with the boy, Adam short-circuited the conversation between mother and son. "I thought you liked me. Why don't you want me here?"

"You kissed Mama."

"Was that a bad thing to do? I like her and she likes me. We were showing each other that we like each other a lot."

Somewhat shaken by the calm way Adam was reacting and by the questions he was posing, some of Michael's anger was being replaced by confusion. The anger wasn't gone though.

"But you're not supposed to kiss Mama. Only Papa could kiss Mama."

"But your papa is gone to heaven. Your mama told me that. Does that mean she can never be kissed again? That would be sad. She will be very sad never to have kisses."

"I don't want her to be sad, but you can't take Papa's place."

"No, no one will ever take your papa's place. He will always be your papa."

"But you kissed Mama. And she said maybe it's because you want to marry her someday."

"Yes, that's true. But I wouldn't be taking your papa's place."

"I don't understand."

"Can we sit down so I can tell you a story?"

"Is it a funny story?"

"No, now isn't a time for one of my funny stories. Maybe later I can tell one of those. No, I want to tell you my story. I had three mamas."

"Nobody can have three mamas."

"That's why we have to sit down. It's a long story."

"All right. We can sit right there on the stairs if you want."

It wasn't Adam's first choice of a comfortable place to sit, but he needed Michael to feel that he was in charge of something and that Adam wasn't pushing him around in his own house so he agreed. Settling in on a step below where Michael sat down, Adam turned toward him to tell his story. He saw a shadow move and knew that Juliette was close and listening. Michael saw the shadow too and leaned toward Adam.

"Mama is eavesdropping. She told me I'm not supposed to do that. Is it all right for her to do it?"

Leaning in close too, Adam whispered as well. "I told her she could listen. She's worried about us so I said this time it was all right. Is it all right with you?"

Michael nodded once again reassured because Adam was deferring to him. Then he waited for Adam to begin speaking.

"My Mama was named Elizabeth. My father is Benjamin, and he and my Mama were married in Boston. I was born there, but my Mama died when I was born. I never knew her."

"Then who took care of you?"

"My father did, and he hired a woman to travel with us for a time. Then, after she went to live with her relatives, it was whomever he could get when he stopped to take jobs as he worked his way west. When I was about five or six, we stopped in Illinois. He met a woman there named Inger. She was wonderful, and he married her. She was my second Mama. I loved her very much, but when we were on a wagon train going west, there was trouble. She was killed."

"How did she get killed?"

"It was an Indian attack. That doesn't happen much, but we were one of the unlucky ones. She had given me a baby brother, but we were both without a mama then. I helped take care of my brother, and eventually we settled in Nevada. We built a ranch there, and after a time, my father went to New Orleans. He met a woman while he was there and brought her home as his wife. Marie was my third Mama. By then, I was older and didn't think I needed another mama." Michael nodded finding some parallel with his own thinking. "But I found I had room in my heart to love one more. So you see, I loved three Mamas. None of them took the place of the others. Each of them was very different from the others, and I learned to love the differences. I loved all of them and still do. My father has pictures of all three of them on his desk."

"Did you get any more brothers?"

"Yes, Marie and Pa had a son too before she died."

"She died too?"

"Yes, I lost all three of them."

"That's really sad."

"I still have my Pa and my brothers though."

"If you and Mama get married, will you give me some brothers?"

"That could happen."

"I don't want any sisters though. Girls aren't any fun."

"That's up to God. You'll have to pray to him and ask him for that favor."

"All right."

"All right?"

"You can kiss Mama." He thought for a moment. "But not when I'm looking, all right?"

"All right. That's best anyway. When a man and a woman are kissing, that's private and no one should be looking. Now should we see about some breakfast then?"

Still in charge, Michael led the way to the kitchen. At the table, Adam was going to be seated but Michael directed him to another seat.

"That's Papa's seat. That'll be your seat. One for each of you."

"Thank you, Michael. I think that will work out just fine."

With a smile but tears in her eyes, Juliette looked at Adam and nodded. At that moment, she decided she would agree to that visit to Nevada. However for the next two weeks, they had picnics, lunches, and some general sight seeing to do during the days when Michael often accompanied them. On some evenings, there were plays and other performances as well as a couple of social gatherings in which they met some of each other's friends. On most nights, there were quiet conversations, and those were times when Michael went to bed giving them some private time. As the day neared that Adam was scheduled to return to the Ponderosa, Juliette and Michael were very sad. Their house had started to seem more like a real home again.

"I'm going to miss you so much."

It was the evening before Adam was set to depart, and he and Juliette had one last evening to sit quietly together. "Please try not to take this the wrong way, but I'm glad about that."

Frowning for a moment, Juliette did understand. "So you're glad I'm going to miss you because that means I care so much. I wish I could show you how much I care." Holding back on physical affection was becoming difficult for both.

"If you like Nevada, I'm sure it won't be long, and we can both show each other how much we care."

"I'm going to like Nevada, and even if I don't like it that much, you did say it would only be part of the time, didn't you?"

"Yes, I've managed to do quite a bit of business for the Ponderosa while I've been in California, and I think I could do some work on my own too. When I go back, I want to talk to Pa about possibly setting things up differently."

"So you would work there part of the time and here the rest of the time?"

"Exactly. I'm not fond of the winters there anyway. I was thinking that spending the late spring through the summers there when the workload is the heaviest and doing what I can to help, and then spending the rest of the year here would be a good situation for all of us."

"Yes, Michael could continue with his schooling here that way, and I could manage the house and the investments I have while you could continue to do all the things you love to do as well. It does seem like a quite reasonable way to handle things. I'm sure your father will see the logic of it."

Laughing then but without mirth, Adam shook his head. "You have yet to meet my father. If you have found me to be persistent or as some would call it, stubborn, you must know I learned that from my father. He is immoveable, and he doesn't adapt to change easily nor does he welcome it. I'm only hoping that the prospect of a son getting married and grandchildren may soften his attitude sufficiently."

"He raised a kind, charming, and romantically inclined son so he can't be that difficult."

"Perhaps I should have you tell him the plan to see how he reacts."

It was getting dark so it was difficult to see, but Juliette was sure he was grinning. She was intrigued to meet his family. He talked about them in such descriptive ways about their personalities, their habits, their ways of speaking, and what came through most was his love of his family. Staying later than usual because he couldn't bear to leave, Adam had little time left to sleep that night, but he found sleep elusive anyway because he was excited about his future in a way he hadn't been in a very long time. Suddenly there were possibilities instead of impediments.

On the way home, he guessed he must have smiled at a thousand people and bid them good day because he couldn't let anything change his good mood. The only sad moment had been trying to explain to Michael that he was only going home to his family and not away permanently. After suffering losses as he had, the boy worried about losing what he had only so recently gained.

"But how do I know you're coming back? Papa was supposed to be my papa forever and now he's gone."

"Michael, I know you're only five."

"I'm almost six."

"All right, you're almost six, but one thing that we can't know is what could happen that we can't control. I can't tell you that I won't get sick. However, most people don't get sick and die. Most people live. Now, do you know anyone else who got sick and died in the last year?" Knowing he was taking a big chance with that one, Adam could only hope he didn't.

"No, well Frankie Martin's grandfather died but he was sick for a long time and he was really old. No, nobody else died."

"You see, most people don't die, so when I say I'm going to be back, I'm telling you what will happen."

"I trust you, Adam, but I'm still sad."

"Why are you still sad?"

"Because I'm going to miss you. I like having you here. You tell funny stories and I like it when we all sing together."

"We'll do that again when I come back, but first you're probably going to see me when you and your mother come for a visit to Nevada. I would very much like the two of you to visit the Ponderosa."

"Really?"

"If your mother can make the arrangements. It's up to her whether she thinks it's a good idea to do that now or not. You do have school and that is a concern."

"If we don't, will you come back here? Promise you will?"

So Adam had promised and weathered another crisis with the young boy. Juliette said he was going to be a good father, and he took that as confirmation that she was willing to accept him courting her. Everything seemed to be falling into place. When she kissed him goodbye, she said she could be there in a week or two at the most if he still wanted her and Michael to visit. His grin was all the answer she needed, but he told her anyway.

"I would love to have you visit. Tell me when you're arriving so I can have things ready and meet you."

"If anything changes, let me know."

Unable to imagine anything that would make him want to tell her not to come, Adam told her that too. Then he had to leave or miss his steamboat out of the city. She insisted on going with him so she wouldn't have to say a final goodbye until absolutely necessary and stood on the dock to watch the boat until it was out of sight. Travel home went smoothly, and he was grateful for the improvements that were being made especially in the quality of the stage stations. When he arrived in Virginia City, he felt reasonably good despite the rigors of traveling. When his family met him, he assumed the slightly sour looks he got were because he was several weeks late and had left them with extra work to do.

"I'm sorry I left you with more work, but I promise to do more than my share to make up for it." That didn't seem to have much of an effect of the mood of his family. "Am I missing something here? You're all here and looking very healthy, but I feel like I'm at a funeral or maybe an execution. What's wrong?"

Shrugging, Ben was curt. "We'll talk about it when we get home. We just had a meeting at the bank, and we're going to have to figure out a way to stay solvent."

"But I got all sorts of good deals for the Ponderosa. We should have a very good cash flow."

"Something happened."

"What happened?"

"I said we would talk about it when we got home. Now put your things in the carriage, and we'll be on our way."

Once many years earlier, Hop Sing had attempted to make a soufflé with Marie. Adam had watched with anticipation when they pulled it from the oven and then observed with dismay when the whole thing collapsed in on itself. That was about how he felt. All the joy that had buoyed him had seemingly been sucked out by the mood of his family and his father's words. Nothing he said and no announcement he made was going to pull it back up again. He settled on the seat next to his father and gently took the reins from his hands letting his clearly distracted father mull over whatever dark news he had and how he was going to tell his eldest son.

As he sat there beside Adam, Ben guessed there would be anger when Adam heard the news and thought it best that he have the whole house to stalk around when that happened. They could also all talk if necessary and look over the ledgers and accounts. If there was any solution in there, perhaps his oldest son could find it. None of them had found a way out of the quandary so far.

Chapter 3

When they arrived at the house, Ben was almost reluctant it seemed to go in the house with Adam but allowed Hoss and Joe to take care of the horses as he walked into the house with his oldest son who was clearly getting impatient with the silence. It was quite obvious that Ben didn't want to have to share the news that he had, but he would.

"You may as well spit it out, Pa. Nothing you say is going to be any worse than all the things I imagined on that ride here. What happened that got us in severe financial difficulties?"

"What happened? It seems like such a simple question, but there is so much that has happened. It happened only a few days after you left. You know that new team of horses you were training to haul freight. Well, Hoss decided to take the freight wagon to town for supplies because we needed quite a lot, and he would have to make two trips if he took the buckboard." Ben noted Adam's look of dismay. "I know. He knows. Those horses were green and still being trained. You wouldn't even let us use them at the timber camps yet. We were using them only for very basic hauling. Yes, what you feared would happen, happened. They spooked in town, and Hoss had trouble controlling them. They knocked a man down and trampled him."

"How badly was he hurt?"

"That's the worst part. He was rolled mostly, but he must have been knocked sideways rather hard. At least, that's what the doctor thinks. He can't move his legs at all, and he has very limited use of his arms and hands. The man is paralyzed. He's in a wheelchair and requires care around the clock."

"Does he have any feeling in his arms and legs?" Having had some experience with a back injury, Adam remembered how the feeling in his feet translated eventually into him being able to move, and although slow and painful, a recovery from that paralyzing injury.

"He does have some feeling apparently, but after more than a month, there is still no movement of any kind in his legs. Doctor Phillips says there is no hope as far as he is concerned."

"Doctor Phillips! What about Doctor Martin?"

"He's out of town and won't be back for probably another week."

"Did you call in another doctor, a specialist?"

"I want to, but Betencourt won't let me."

"Why does that name seem familiar?"

"Denton Betencourt is the head of Betencourt Holding Company which is a major investor in railroads in the west and a major shareholder in a number of banks."

"And let me guess, he is the holding company."

"He is."

"What's he done to us?"

"He wants a million dollars or he'll push the railroads to invoke the morals clause in those contracts you got for us and push to make sure we pay the penalties as well."

"The morals clause? How can that happen?"

"He's arguing that Hoss' use of those horses in town was a breach of decent moral behavior and unethical. He filed charges with Roy to help bolster his case. Hoss could go to jail too."

"What does Hiram say?"

"That we need more lawyers."

"Can we go to the bank and get a loan against the Ponderosa to pay him off while we fight it? We could put the money in an escrow account and wait for a judicial verdict."

"The banks won't loan us a dime. Remember, he has influence there too. He used that to cut off our credit saying we are in danger of defaulting on any loan and convincing the banks that we are a credit risk too great to take. We're in danger of not being able to do anything with the way he's hogtied us. Everyone is afraid to do business with us because they don't want to get caught in a snare if we can't get out of this mess."

"Why didn't you contact me to come home?"

"Hiram said there was nothing you could do, and for a time, we hoped that perhaps we might be able to have you find some help for us in San Francisco."

"But you couldn't?"

"The banks here are tied to banks there, and we were informed it would make no difference whether we dealt with them here or there."

"So what does he really want, the Ponderosa?"

"I can't imagine that he would. He has no experience running anything like it. It seems he will take all the cash he can from us until we've got none left to give."

At that, Adam got worried. "How much have you given him already?"

Unable to answer him, Ben looked down at his desk.

"You cashed in everything you could, didn't you? That means we have no reserves."

"Yes, I had hoped it would be enough, but apparently it isn't. He won't agree to negotiate a settlement. He says his life is ruined, and we have to pay."

"Are we sure?"

"That we have to pay? The lawyers will have to fight that out yet."

"No, are we sure that he is as badly injured as he claims?"

"Adam, he has no need of our money. He's a wealthy man. Why would he create such an elaborate hoax to get money from us when he has so much already?"

"Why do so many very rich men continue to be so greedy when they already have more money than they can spend? Pa, if I had the answer to that, there would be a lot of people ready to buy the book I'd write or listen to the lectures I could give. I've never understood it, and I doubt those greedy men understand it either."

"Do you really think he could be faking?"

"I'd have more confidence in the diagnosis if it had come from Paul or a specialist. Doctor Phillips is a fine man and a caring doctor, but he is more sympathetic than anything. Do you think he would ever question anyone who said they were hurt, sick, or in pain? It's why so many go to him when what they really need is a shoulder to cry on."

"Or sometimes a kick in the pants."

"Exactly. I'd like Paul to examine him or we could bring a specialist here to take a look at him, for purely humanitarian reasons, of course. We can have Hiram require it under discovery for the court case. He can't refuse unless he wants to drop the suit against us or at the very least look like he's faking which would work in our favor too."

"Of course, that should work. Adam, it's good to have you home. It's good to have a plan even if it doesn't work. He could truly be paralyzed, but at least we'll know. We were wallowing in our troubles. Now we're not."

"Now we ain't what?"

Hoss and Joe had come into the house and heard the last statements, and Hoss had asked the question. Ben filled them in on Adam's skepticism about Betencourt's paralysis. Joe had a significant qualifying question though.

"How are we going to afford to bring a specialist here? We've given him all the ready cash we have. I doubt any specialist is going to make the trip on a promise that we'll pay if we're right and we can get some of our money back."

Again it was Adam who had the solution. "I still have money and investments. We could use those to tide us over, and it would be enough to cover the cost of bringing in a specialist too."

The other three men were silent knowing what a sacrifice that was because Adam had been open about his idea of using that money to perhaps start up his own engineering and architecture firm or perhaps to do some long delayed travel.

"You don't have to look like it's a funeral. If it all works out, you can take out a loan and pay me back enough to start up that business when I want to do it. I won't be traveling, and the business will start bringing in money soon enough so I won't need that much."

"But what about a place to live and such?" Hoss still didn't want his older brother to have to sacrifice his dreams. "And what do you mean that you won't be traveling?"

"Well, now I finally get to share my news. I met someone. It's the main reason I stayed in the city so much longer."

"Well, hot diggity, finally something good is happening." Grinning, Hoss slapped Adam on the shoulder and then wrapped his arm around that shoulder. "What's her name? Tell us all about your little filly."

Frowning a little at the idea of his lady being referred to as a filly, Adam got a laugh from Hoss before he answered. "Her name is Juliette and she has a son, Michael."

That got Ben's interest even more. "She has a son?"

"She's a widow. Her husband Tobias died from an illness about a year ago. Now, I don't know how much money she has, but she is financially independent so I know she isn't after the Ponderosa. She's got brown hair and comes up to about here on me." Adam held his hand at about his shoulder height.

"Is she pretty?" Joe wanted to know that of course.

"In my eyes, she's the most beautiful woman in the world. You'll be able to see for yourself soon enough. I invited her and Michael to visit the Ponderosa. I suppose I ought to rescind that now though with all of this going on."

Ben looked as disappointed as Adam probably felt. "Yes, it probably would be best if we met her under less trying circumstances, son. Let me say I am happy for you though, and now I think we may all sleep better tonight with some good news as well as a plan. I think dinner will taste better too and probably won't sit like a lead weight in my belly either."

"Did you ask her to marry you?" Joe was grinning, but Hoss raised his eyebrows wondering too if there would be an answer to that considering that Adam had invited her to visit the Ponderosa.

"No, I didn't ask her to marry me."

Because Adam's voice had risen, all three men knew Joe had hit close to the mark though. It got them all grinning.

Ben put his hand on Adam's shoulder. "Son, are you courting her?"

Sighing theatrically, Adam pursed his lips and refused to answer, but that was all the answer they needed. They headed to the dining table in a more jovial mood than they had in many weeks. As they talked about more serious matters though, Adam turned to his middle brother.

"Hoss, I'm so sorry you're facing this."

"My fault for taking those horses to town. I shoulda followed your advice. But they seemed fine until we was leavin' and then they spooked. I thought there was a flash of light in my eyes and that musta been what did it. They jerked away and before I could stop 'em, they banged into that feller. Crazy thing is, I thought he wasn't in our way. I didn't think there was anybody in front of us, and then real sudden like, he was rolling across the street, and all I could think was that I hoped he wasn't dead."

"Be better if he was. He'd be happier and so would we."

"Joseph, that's no way to talk."

"Sorry, Pa, but he's as unhappy a man as I ever knew and sitting in that chair isn't going to be a good life for him. Meanwhile he's going to make our life as miserable as his."

"Still, it isn't good to wish a man dead when he hasn't done any wrong to you."

"Well the jury is out on that. I think he wants to ruin us. He wants more money than he needs so what other reason could he have. He's a sour bitter man and he wants us to feel the same way." Joe may have been the one saying it, but the others had similar thoughts.

"Let's not talk about that any more tonight. Let's have dessert and coffee and maybe get Adam to talk about Juliette a bit more. That ought to be a much more pleasant conversation."

It was, and later in his room, Adam's thoughts were mostly about Juliette too. He wanted to tell her enough about what had happened so that she wouldn't take him rescinding the invitation as any kind of rejection. Knowing how much she and Michael had looked forward to it as an adventure, he knew it would be a disappointment so he tried to explain why it would be a difficult time for them to visit with all the uncertainties and trouble his family was facing. Asking her to trust him when they still didn't know each other that well was a stretch, he knew, but it had to be done. Baring his heart and soul in that letter more than he had done for probably twenty years or more, he was as honest and forthright as he could be but did his best not to sound pitiful. He guessed his father would not have approved of him explaining so much of what was family business, but if she was to become part of the family, and he thought of her that way already, he believed she had a right to know it all. Honesty and integrity were of major importance to him, and this letter ought to prove to her that he would be honest with her no matter what. When he sealed that letter, he said a little prayer hoping she would receive it in the same spirit in which it was written. Any relationship faced obstacles so this was a test of sorts. If they could manage to overcome this, it should let both of them know that they could work together to resolve any future difficulties. At least, he prayed it was so.

The next morning, Adam and his father went to town to begin working on implementing Adam's plan and so that Adam could post the letter to Juliette. Both moves were momentous but neither of them knew the full impact of their actions that day.

Chapter 4

When Juliette received Adam's letter, she didn't know what to think at first. Wanting so much to trust he was telling the truth but being a cautious and practical woman, she made some discreet inquiries at her bank and with some friends she had met when Adam had been in town. Everything she found out confirmed what he had said to her in the letter. His family was being squeezed financially by an Englishman who had been paralyzed in an accident and seemed bent on not only getting a redress of grievances but on destroying the Cartwrights as well. One banker though offered a possible explanation other than revenge when he postulated that the Ponderosa was a great prize and perhaps the man wanted that instead.

"Is it worth a million dollars?"

"Oh, it's worth many times that and far more than that especially if it's sold off in pieces. As a whole, they operate it as a ranch with timber interests, but there is mining potential there too. But even if they sold the land only, you're looking at probably several million dollars. Then there are cattle, horses, mineral rights, and timber."

"Why don't they sell enough then to settle the claim against them?"

"They never had any interest in selling it before this happened, and now they're stuck. Everyone knows they're in a bind so they wouldn't get a good price for anything they tried to sell because it's a fire sale. It's a working operation too so they need cash to keep operating. They would need to sell to pay that claim and sell more to get cash to keep operating, but they would have a smaller operation, and it would be more difficult."

"Yes, everyone knows they're desperate for money so they would likely offer ten cents on the dollar or some ridiculous figure like that. I know Tobias would talk about how when someone got in a bind financially others would swoop in like vultures to do that. So the Cartwrights would have a difficult time with a smaller operation staying solvent and that likely would cause them to lose it all. They're too good at business to accept any ridiculous offer so they're trying to find another way out. And Denton Betencourt may be using the accident as a way to become incredibly wealthy?"

"There are others waiting around like the vultures you mentioned to swoop in and get what they can when the time comes."

"But Betencourt will get the most."

"Yes, isn't that amazing. Even with a horrendous accident, the man finds a way to make money from it."

"It's almost like he couldn't have planned it better."

"Yes, well, I suppose that's true except for being confined to a wheelchair."

Of course Juliette had to agree, but something nagged at her mind later the more she thought about that conversation. Somehow she seemed to think there was something familiar about that scenario although nothing specific came to mind. What she did think was that if she was serious about her intent to make a life with Adam, she belonged there with him as his family faced this crisis. She even had an idea of how to help if he would let her. While making the rounds and discussing the situation with various people, she had recalled a conversation with Tobias when he had said he had refused a deal with Betencourt because somehow the man did not seem legitimate. At the time, she had not wondered much about that, but now tried to remember more of what Tobias had said. It hadn't been long after they had that discussion when he had started to have bouts of stomach pain, which turned quickly into far more serious problems. Within a few weeks, the illness had killed him, and she had to bury her husband. All concerns about business had been put aside for a while, but now she was involved again and wondered why he had been suspicious of the man. She decided to look through his old papers to see if there was anything there. What she eventually found surprised her. Tobias had contacted a detective agency to investigate the man. There was nothing more there than their response to his inquiry. It must have arrived shortly before his illness for she could find no record that he had ever replied to them accepting their terms for the investigation. She sat down and penned a response before calling Michael to tell him they were taking a trip to Nevada. There were quite a few arrangements to make, but she was learning how to do things for herself so setting up a trip for her and her son was only one more lesson in how to do that.

The trip was exciting for Michael. Not only had he never traveled, but the idea of going to Virginia City where there were cowboys and horses was the stuff of dreams for him. Although Adam had talked only briefly about the Ponderosa, Michael had repeated those things and embellished them so that now he had a whole spiel about what he expected to see and to do when he was on the ranch. Although Adam had said they would be in the midst of a crisis, Juliette thought that her resources and her information would be enough to make her welcome. Of course, she felt she could offer some comfort too to the man she loved. What she didn't expect was that when she arrived, Adam wasn't there. She rented a carriage and drove to the Ponderosa, which she found was much further from town than she expected. About the time she thought she must be hopelessly lost even though she had faithfully followed the directions she had been given, the ranch house and buildings appeared before her to her great relief. When a silver haired gentleman and a very large man came from the house to greet her and Michael, she knew who they had to be.

"You must be Mister Ben Cartwright, and you must be Hoss Cartwright."

Seeing a brown-haired attractive woman of medium height with a young boy beside her and luggage in the carriage boot, Ben guessed who it had to be. "And are you Juliette Browning?"

"I am, and this is Michael. And yes, I can see by your looks that you're quite surprised to see us. I did get Adam's letter telling of your troubles, but I think I have information that might help, and I think I may be able to help in another way. At least, I would like to talk with Adam to see if it's possible."

"Ah, well, when Adam gets home, I'm sure he would like to talk with you."

"He's not here?"

"No, ma'am. He said he told you about our troubles so I reckon you'll understand all this. Once we got some cash using his investments, Pa said he was the best one to talk to the railroad folks so he headed on over to Carson City to get the railroad company to let us move forward with the contract we got with 'em. Then he headed on up to the timber camps to get the work moving again. He's bull of the woods up there and the best one to do the job."

"Bull of the woods?"

Rolling his eyes at Hoss, Ben turned to Juliette. "It's a lot to explain. First, let's get you and Michael inside and settled into guest rooms. We'll get someone to take care of the horse and carriage. You can freshen up a bit, and we can get something for you to eat and drink. We can talk and explain whatever you need to know once that's all done."

"Yes, ma'am, sorry. It'll be a lot more comfortable settin' inside and talkin' instead of being out here. I shoulda thought 'bout that. Here, let me get your bags."

Michael had been staring at Hoss most of the time. "How big are you?"

"I'm about the biggest man in these parts. Here, let me give you a hand down." Of course, that meant that Hoss picked Michael up and set him on the ground as if he weighed nothing.

Leaning back until he almost tipped over, Michael was amazed at Hoss' size even though Adam had told him that Hoss was a very big man. "How did you get so big?"

Ben offered Juliette his arm and they proceeded into the house followed by Hoss who answered Michael's question.

"Well, you see, my older brother, Adam, you know, you met him already; well, when we was young, he didn't like beets and he didn't like beans. In fact, there were a lot of foods he didn't like. Every time he got something on his plate he didn't like, he give it to me. So, I got my food and probably half or more of his food. He was a lot older than me so that was a lot of food. I grew twice or even three times as fast as any other young'un around here. Folks saw that and figured I needed more food, so they done kept giving me more and more, and I kept growing bigger and bigger and getting more and more food. Until I was full growed and here I am."

"Don't you believe it. He isn't 'full growed' yet. You watch what he eats at dinner, and you'll see that he's still trying to grow." Joe had come down the stairs after putting on clean clothing for dinner because he had had a very dirty day working.

"You must be Joe. I heard quite a bit about you."

"You must be Juliette, and don't you believe even half those stories Adam tells about me. He's just jealous. However Adam said you were the most beautiful woman in the world. He didn't exaggerate." Joe took her hand and kissed the back of it.

However Michael stepped up beside his mother. "You're not supposed to do that. Only Adam can kiss my Mama."

"Oh, I'm not kissing her. I only greeted her like a proper gentleman would. Hey, what do you know about my brother kissing anyone anyway?"

Michael turned a little red then, and Hoss started laughing.

"He might be a bit like you, Joe, sneaking around and looking when he shouldn't oughta be looking. At least Adam's used to it."

"You ignore him, Michael. Hey, I have some old wooden toy soldiers in my room. At least I think they're still packed away in my closet. Should I get those out for you to play with?"

Juliette watched as Joe bounded up the stairs ahead of Michael, and Hoss carried up the luggage behind them. She turned toward Ben. "You are all so much like Adam described you." Seeing Ben's eyebrows rise a bit, she hastened to explain more. "He was so proud of all of you. He talked of you frequently so it's as if I knew you already."

At dinner, Michael wanted to sit next to Hoss and watched as the big man filled his plate with food. He looked across the table then at Joe who winked. Michael grinned as Ben rolled his eyes. The rest of the meal was spent getting to know Michael and letting him have a chance to get to know them. After dinner when Michael played for a bit with the toy soldiers and then headed to bed, Juliette was able to talk to Ben and his younger sons about what she knew and how she hoped to help if possible.

Most interested in what Juliette had discovered about her husband's concerns about Betencourt and that he had contacted the Pinkerton Detective Agency, Ben had one main question. "Do you have any idea why your husband was suspicious of him?"

"I was only able to find out a little talking to some officers at our bank. It seems that Denton Betencourt suddenly appeared in Canada with money about ten years ago making modest investments and then showed up in California making substantial investments. Tobias wondered what had happened to his fortunes to increase them so much in such a short time. Tobias probably thought Betencourt was involved in something illegal to be able to do that. There were apparently some rumors that he was involved in some kind of underhanded scheme in Canada, but no one had any details. I've been trying to remember what was talked about then, but I can't. I don't know who my husband's source was."

"I'm afraid that we don't have enough resources or probably enough time to engage the services of a detective agency to follow up on that and find out more about him."

"I've already taken care of that. I responded to the letter that was sent to my husband. I am finishing his quest. He wanted that done so I'm doing it."

"But it will help us and not you. You shouldn't be spending your money to help us."

"Ben, I'm sure you know by now that Adam intends to court me. I like that idea. If all works out as we want it to work out, at some point, my resources will be part of the family resources anyway. I'm only choosing to use a small portion of them to help the family in advance."

"It is very generous of you and very logical. I thank you. I don't know how to express my gratitude in any other way."

"I don't expect anything more. Now I do have one other offer for you to consider, and based on what Adam has told me of you and his brothers, I know this one will require some time for you to consider. Betencourt wants a million dollars and has you so tied up with that claim that you can't get a loan nor be sure of your contracts and future business. He could ruin you, and the Ponderosa would be up for grabs."

From the way Ben reacted, it was clearly a sensitive issue and she had hit close to the bullseye. "We're working on that."

I have enough money to loan you the million dollars." Juliette saw all three men getting ready to state their objections. "It will be a loan as you would get from any bank. It was what you were seeking, wasn't it?" She didn't wait for an answer. "It could be put into escrow until a court could determine the validity of his claim against you. Meanwhile, perhaps we could get some report back from the detective agency and have some leverage there if they find useful information."

"You are a most resourceful woman." Juliette smiled at the praise. Apparently Adam wasn't the only family member willing to listen to a woman's opinion. "You are correct in that we need time to think about this." Ben looked pointedly at Hoss and Joe letting them know he expected them to do exactly that. "Meanwhile, I should explain more of what we're doing. Hoss mentioned that we're using Adam's investments to get a cash flow so we can maintain our daily operations. What he didn't say is that we also used some of Adam's money to secure the services of a specialist in spinal injuries. He should arrive within a week or two weeks to take a look at Betencourt to see if there is any possibility of recovery whether partial or complete."

"That's a wise precaution. What has he said about that?"

"We haven't told him yet. We don't want him to do anything to counteract our plan. If he doesn't know we're doing it, he can't do anything to counteract it."

"Do you think he somehow staged the accident?"

"I do have my suspicions. Hoss doesn't."

"No, ma'am, I don't. I can't see how he coulda made them horses bolt like that and then get in the way of 'em."

"Maybe when we get the report from the detectives, we'll have an idea about that."

By the way she responded, Ben could tell that Juliette shared his suspicions. However, it was getting late and Juliette's eyelids were drooping so they could wait to discuss more of this the next day. Ben suggested they all had a lot to think about and probably needed some rest too. They headed up the stairs quietly lost in their own thoughts.

Despite all the troubles facing them, over the next couple of weeks, Ben had to admit that having Juliette and Michael there was a ray of sunshine that let them have some smiles that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. Efforts to get Michael to laugh kept Hoss and Joe occupied frequently during the day and always in the evenings. It gave Ben and Juliette quite a bit of time to talk. Hoss often found time to sit in on those conversations too as he found Juliette fascinating. As the days stretched into a week and Adam still had not returned, Hoss even volunteered to take Juliette on a tour of the Ponderosa. That turned into two days of doing that when Saturday wasn't enough so they did the same on Sunday and then again on the following Saturday and Sunday. Although Ben worried that trouble might be developing, he didn't know what to say without insulting Hoss and perhaps causing trouble himself. He only hoped his middle son wasn't going to create a problem.

Chapter 5

However, it was Adam who created a problem when he returned almost three weeks after Juliette had arrived. Shocked to see her there and frustrated with problems he had encountered at the timber camps as well as exhausted by having to work extremely long days to resolve those problems, he was in a terrible mood.

When Ben and the others had heard Adam ride in, they had let Juliette go outside to greet him and they stayed inside to give the couple some privacy. They had no idea the type of reception that occurred. She walked out to the stable where he was taking care of his horse, and his greeting was not at all what she expected.

"What are you doing here? I told you not to come."

Offended, she got defensive and argued. "No, you said it probably wasn't a good idea for me to come now."

"Listen, I've had several very rough weeks and I don't need you playing word games with me now."

"I'm not playing games. I'm simply explaining it to you." Her tone was haughty and didn't go unnoticed.

Nor did his surliness play well with her. "I'm not your child who needs things explained. You expressly went against my wishes so you can hardly expect me to be happy about it."

"Well, I had good reasons. I came here to loan you and your family the money to get out of this predicament you're in. Your father and Hoss especially seem to like the idea very much. Joe is agreeable as well. They wanted to wait for you before going ahead with it. I already hired a detective agency to investigate Mister Denton Betencourt. We'll soon know more about him too."

Standing then with his fists on his hips, Adam paused for a moment before responding trying only somewhat to keep control of his temper. "Is this what things would be like if I courted you and married you? You'd expect to run roughshod over me and simply dictate to me what's going to happen?"

"I'm doing no such thing. I already told you we were waiting for you to get here before we did anything." Then she realized what he had said and the 'if' really hurt. She knew then that she had probably hurt him and he was striking back but didn't know how to make things better. She did try to soften her approach but it was a little late at that moment.

"But you have already talked my family into the decision. It seems what I would have to say would mean nothing."

"Of course it would mean something."

"Don't patronize me."

"I'm not, but you seem to want to take everything I say and cast it as negative. I only wanted to help. I don't want us to fight."

"You picked a fine way of doing that."

The two stood fuming for a time before Adam pointed at the house. "We may as well go inside. There's not much more to be said here, is there?"

As they entered the house, the adults correctly assessed their mood, but Michael was excited to see Adam and rushed to him.

"You look really different."

"I've been up in the mountains at timber camps. I need a bath and a good shave. I'll look more like what you remember after that."

"Good because I liked you better the other way."

"You're not the only one." There was a hint of bitterness in that which Juliette heard as did the others.

Guessing that Juliette had perhaps prematurely told Adam about some of the possible actions they might take and that he hadn't responded well, Ben suggested his son take that bath and get something to eat. "You look like you need a good night's sleep too. We have lots of time tomorrow to talk. I think we'll all be better off talking tomorrow."

Although Adam wanted to disagree, he knew his father was correct. Hop Sing had a bath ready and food cooking for him. He agreed to the bath and the dinner. By the time he emerged to sit by the fireplace, Joe was playing checkers with Michael who was being coached by Hoss. He saw Hoss frequently looking at Juliette with concern. She was sitting on the settee looking upset still, and she wouldn't look at him although she had to know he was looking at her. He wished she would at least give him a glance so he could apologize. Although she didn't look at him, she looked at Hoss and smiled often making him wonder about that. When it was time for Michael to go to bed, Juliette excused herself to do the same. Hoss waited for her and Michael to get to the top of the stairs before he turned on Adam.

"What did you say to upset her so much?"

"How is that any business of yours?"

Quickly, Ben intervened. "I think it best if everyone waits to discuss any of this until cooler heads prevail tomorrow."

Ben's look was mostly at Hoss warning him off. There was an uneasy silence until they all went to bed a short time later. The silence in the house was broken later by Michael's screams from a nightmare. Everyone gathered in his room quickly reassuring him that there was nothing to fear. Juliette sat on his bedside and wrapped an arm around him until he said he didn't need that. He was embarrassed once again to have all the men there see him being coddled by his mother. Understanding that, she said she would say goodnight and all the others could too so he could go back to sleep. Ben was the first.

"Good night, Michael. I'm right across the hall if you need me."

"Good night, punkin, and don't you be waking us all up again, ya hear." Hoss tickled him then before leaving getting some giggles for his efforts.

"What he said. Good night, Michael. Sleep well now. I'm right next door too if you need me." Joe made some funny faces then to get Michael to smile.

When Adam was going to say good night, Michael asked him to come close and he whispered in his ear. Adam nodded and then said a simple good night to the boy before leaving and saying the same to Juliette. She kissed her son and asked what he said to Adam.

"It's secret stuff, Mama. It's between me and Adam. All right?"

"All right. But there's no problem, is there?"

"Oh, no, there's no problem with Adam. Why would there be a problem with Adam?"

"Of course there wouldn't be. You know I'm a mother. I worry about everything. Good night, Michael."

When Juliette left, she pulled the door closed. A short time later, it opened and Adam came inside and turned up the lamp a little.

"Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Sitting up in the bed, Michael looked worried. "Adam, is it all right to be scared?"

"Everyone is scared at times. What is it that scares you?"

"This house scares me."

"The house scares you?"

"It makes all kinds of noises. Sometimes at night, I have trouble sleeping because of the noises. This isn't the first bad dream I had here. Everybody comes running in and I don't like that. It makes me feel like a baby."

"All right, then, why don't you lay on your side and let me rub your back while you tell me about the sounds you hear."

"Why are you going to rub my back?"

"Because I took care of my younger brothers when they were your age, and it always helped them relax and go to sleep. Now if you tell me about the noises, I'll explain what makes each one so you don't have to be afraid of them."

"Will that work?"

"Knowledge is power, Michael. When you know what they are, they can't scare you."

"All right, I will. What's that scratching noise I can hear outside my window?"

"It's a windy night. It's usually windy here, and the branches of trees brush against the house or tumbleweeds and other things like that blow against the house. That's what makes those sounds."

"What's that squeaking sound I hear in the hallway sometimes?"

"There are floorboards that don't fit together very well and rub against each other when someone walks over them. What you're hearing is somebody in the family walking down the hall."

It didn't take long for Adam to explain all the noises and for Michael to get very drowsy. He asked Adam to hold his hand until he fell asleep. Adam took the boy's hand in his and pulled the covers up to the boy's chin so that the only things outside the warm blankets were his head and his hand.

"There, now you're all warm and cozy and ready to sleep through the night, right?"

"Right. Thank you, Adam. Good night."

"Good night, Michael."

In the morning, Adam decided to be accommodating. He agreed to the loan without objections surprising everyone. Luckily no one said that. Then Ben explained why Juliette had hired the Pinkertons to investigate Denton Betencourt. If Adam had all that information the night before, he wouldn't have been so upset with Juliette and wondered why she hadn't told him. As he thought about it, he realized his manner and mood had probably been factors in that and hoped he could apologize soon. However any chance of that happening that day were ended when a messenger arrived with news that the specialist they had contacted had arrived in town and wanted to meet with Ben and Adam. All Adam could say to Juliette was that he hoped they could talk that evening, but he got a rather cool response. When Adam went out to saddle his horse, Hoss went out to saddle Buck for their father. It was a chance for the two to talk, but it wasn't the talk Adam hoped to have.

"You weren't very nice to Miss Juliette last night."

"I know, and I will apologize to her today and make things right." Pausing, Adam had to ask. "I asked you this last night and you never answered. Why is that any of your business?"

"I got ta know her real well in these coupla weeks she been here."

Suspicious because Hoss wouldn't look at him when he said that, Adam was blunt. "You better not be telling me that you have feelings for her."

"Dadburnit, I cain't help it. You don't seem right for her. She was happy here until you got back."

"We're going to have words about this but later. I have to go to town with Pa now."

Adam was quiet on the ride to town, and Ben was afraid it had something to do with Hoss because he had found the two in angry stony silence when he went to the stable. Any attempt to get Adam to talk though had been rebuffed. Guessing that it probably had something to do with Juliette too, Ben wisely decided to let that topic lie dormant until they got home.

In town, Ben and Adam met with the specialist and then with Hiram in tow, went to see Denton Betencourt. At the hotel, they were admitted to Denton's room by a short man wearing thick glasses. Denton said the man was his aide. They got a frigid response from Denton who wasn't willing at all to let the specialist examine him much less talk to him or even let him discuss his case with Doctor Phillips. Ben and Adam were upset, but that was why they had asked Hiram to accompany them. The attorney took over from there.

"Sir, your refusal to cooperate with a legitimate request for medical intervention will surely hurt your case in court. I urge you to reconsider. We will have to submit your refusal to the judge as evidence of not acting in good faith. It will cast doubt on your whole submission."

"I'm paralyzed. I shouldn't have to put up with this. I want all of you to get out."

"We'll leave, but I should tell you that we have the million you demanded. However it is in an escrow account, and we will ask the judge to release all our accounts so we can do business unencumbered until the courts determine the validity of your claim."

With that statement from Hiram, and a smug look, Ben turned to leave. The short bald man retained to help Denton held the door open for them to leave the suite but he said nothing. Once outside, Ben apologized to the specialist who said it hadn't been all in vain. Ben asked him to explain.

"I can give you a report right now that will help your case in court."

"How can you do that without examining the patient?"

"Mister Cartwright, for the very reasons you brought me here. I have spent years working with patients who have suffered debilitating paralyzing injuries. Some I have helped, and some I could not. What I looked for in patients I could help I saw in there. In fact, I saw far more than I ever expected to see. The patient is able to sit completely upright without any assistance. He moved his torso forward and back smoothly so there is no component injury affecting the spine in that area."

He paused to let that sink in. Adam spoke first.

"So he couldn't possibly have paralysis in his arms, even partial paralysis. It wouldn't make sense."

"No, it wouldn't. He was able to hold his arms on the sides of the chair too, and with ease, I may add. With complete paralysis, his arms would have fallen to the side or he would have had some difficulty holding them there. Also, if he has such an injury to his lower spine, which happened nearly two months ago now, there should be some wasting of the leg muscles too. However when he became quite agitated with you, it was clear that the muscles of his thighs were bunching up as if he wanted to launch himself at you. The legs moved even if only slightly." Seeing the looks that the other men had, the doctor nodded. "Yes, it would be impossible with the injury he supposedly had."

"So he's faking." Adam said it, but Ben was thinking it.

"To some extent, yes. I cannot say that he was not injured. All that I can say is that he does not have the complete paralysis he claims to have. He can move his arms and legs. How much he can move them would require an examination which clearly he will not allow and for obvious reasons."

Hiram had a request. "Sir, we'll need your written report, but would you go with us to meet with the judge and the prosecutor right now? It's highly irregular and they may not want to do it, but this is information that they should have soon."

The judge in the case would not meet with them saying it was against judicial ethics, but the prosecutor did. When the specialist finished laying out his case, all he could do was accept it as evidence.

"Well, I have to drop the most serious charges then. There isn't evidence to back them up. Ben, Hoss will still have to pay a fine, and under the circumstances, will you and your family be able to raise the funds to pay a substantial fine?"

"Substantial?"

"He did bring an unsafe team into the center of town. Because of the high volume of traffic and the steep hills around here, there is at least one accident per day. However, bringing a team of horses to town that he knew to be a problem means a fine. He's lucky no one was killed."

Although Hiram could see that Adam wanted to argue, he told him that he and Ben ought to head home as he thanked the prosecutor for his generous response and willingness to listen to the truth. Once they were outside the office, he explained. "I can appeal to him later after he's had more time to think about it. Consider that he has already dropped the most serious charges. Hoss will not go to jail. There won't even be a trial. With luck, I'll see if I can get him to do something about the rest of it, but let's not get him upset with us."

Seeing the wisdom of that approach, Ben and Adam did as instructed and planned to head for home with good news for Hoss at least. With a stop at the bank to finalize the papers to get their accounts once more active with the million in escrow so they could get back to business, they were ready to leave. With Betencourt's suit all but assured of failure when it got before a judge in a week or so, borrowing that amount was less of a problem because they would have no problem paying it back. Adam was more comfortable with the idea knowing they wouldn't actually have that huge debt looming over them. Ben hoped too that it would make it easier for Adam to make amends with Juliette because Ben liked her and thought she and Adam were a good pairing if they could get past their first argument. However Hoss was an unknown variable in the discussion, and Ben didn't know what to do about that either.

The plan to go directly home was thwarted though when they were hailed by a boy who told them he had a message that they had mail to pick up. Once they saw what was in the mail, they took a look at it and then headed to Roy's office to discuss it. It was a report from the Pinkerton Detective Agency. They never saw the man who worked for Betencourt ride out of town in the direction of the Ponderosa. From Roy's office, they headed back to see Hiram to plan their next moves and then back to Roy's office to tell him before they finally headed home. Hoss was already headed to town before they left and they met him on the road. He didn't want to talk about where he was going saying only that he had business in town. Because Adam wanted to talk to Juliette without Hoss around, he wasn't that concerned why Hoss was going to be gone. Ben was frustrated with both sons and their animosity, but couldn't do anything about it.

Chapter 6

When Adam got home, he saw Juliette on the porch. Cochise was gone so he guessed that Michael might be gone as well. Ben told him to let the hands take care of the horses because Adam needed to talk to Juliette. Approaching the porch, Adam could see that it appeared Juliette's attitude hadn't changed much if at all since that morning.

"I first want to apologize for last night. I was tired and frustrated, but that was no excuse for taking it out on you."

Her stance relaxed a little at his quiet tone. "I didn't know you could be so moody and mean."

"I didn't think I was mean."

"When I came here, it was to help. It was out of kindness, and to have it all thrown at me was mean. Then to have you sit and fume all evening made it worse. You should have apologized last night."

"I should have, but you looked so angry, I didn't think we could have a very good outcome if I tried to talk with you then. You seem very angry yet."

"Maybe I am. Why can't you be more like Hoss? He's so kind and gentle, the way you were in the city. I haven't seen him act the way you acted."

That made Adam's temper rise again, and he did his best not to let it get out of control. "Maybe because he wasn't under any pressure and he got to sleep in his bed every night and wasn't working from before dawn until after the sun set every day."

"Yes, he was home, and he took me on rides to show me the ranch and even on picnics so I could have some fun."

"I wasn't gone by choice. I was doing work my family wanted me to do while Hoss apparently got to take you on those rides around the Ponderosa and on picnics. It seems to me those are things I should have been able to do. Only Hoss was courting you instead of me."

"He wasn't courting me." Juliette was shocked that Adam would suggest anything like that.

"Wasn't he? He told me this morning that he's attracted to you." Adam wisely went no further and made no accusations. He left the implication hanging in the air though.

"Adam, I never encouraged him."

"But you agreed to all those rides and picnics. Just the two of you."

At that moment, Juliette knew what she had done. "I'm sorry. I had no idea what I was doing. It seemed so innocent. I never meant to encourage him to feel that way."

"Where was he going, by the way? I see two cups so he must have been here with you before he left. We passed him on the road, and all he said was that he had some business to take care of in town."

"A messenger came here and said Betencourt wished to see him about making a deal. He left soon after that."

"Not right away?"

"Chub got a stone bruise this morning. So Hoss had to get another horse, and he and Hank talked about which one would be best for him to use."

Thinking for only a moment longer, Adam rushed into the house and told his father what Juliette had said and then said he was going to town. Ben told him to go and that he would follow as fast as he could. Running to the stable, Adam told a hand to get him a horse as he rushed inside to get his saddle. As fast as they could, they saddled up the horse, and Adam raced out of the yard headed for town. Ben came out and quickly explained to Juliette what they had found out before he too left. When Joe got back a short time later, Juliette explained what she knew, and Joe got a fresh horse and followed his brother and father to town. Later, Michael came up on the porch where Juliette sad huddled in a thick coat.

"Mama, what's going on? Are you still mad at Adam?"

"Don't worry about me being mad."

"I do because then you might not marry Adam."

"You want me to marry Adam?"

"Sure I do."

"I thought you liked Hoss and Joe better."

"No, I like them different. They're like having brothers. They make sure I have fun and they take me places with them. They make me laugh."

"What about Adam?"

"He's like a papa. He makes me feel safe."

"What do you mean he makes you feel safe?"

"Can I tell you something secret?"

"Certainly if it's your secret."

"Last night when I said it was a secret?" Juliette nodded. "I asked Adam to come back to my room. He did."

"Why did you want him to come back to your room?"

"I told him I was scared every night. He said everybody gets scared. He asked me why I was scared. I said the noises in the house scared me. He rubbed my back and he told me what every noise was. That was so they wouldn't scare me any more. Did you know that the squeaking in the hallway is boards? He said they rub each other when people walk on them. I tried it this morning. You know what? I got them to squeak on purpose. He was right."

With tears forming in her eyes, Juliette did manage to get the next question out. "So you were able to sleep then?"

"Almost. I asked Adam to hold my hand until I fell asleep. He tucked the covers up to my chin, Mama, just like you like to do. Then this morning when I woke up, he was still there. He was still holding my hand. He slept in that chair all night so I wouldn't be afraid. He woke up and put a finger over his lips so I wouldn't say anything. He whispered that we shouldn't wake anyone else up. Then he left."

If Adam had been there, Juliette would have thrown herself into his arms and begged his forgiveness. As it was, she hoped that when he returned, she could get him to forgive her for her shallowness and self-centeredness. Until then, she would pray for his safe return and that of his family.

When Adam got to town he rushed to Betencourt's room and forced his way in. He found Hoss face down on the floor. Denton quickly grabbed a pistol and held it to Hoss' head. By the time Ben arrived, Roy was in that suite trying to sort out what had happened and keep an angry crowd at bay. Hoss was holding a cold compress to his head and Doctor Martin was talking softly to him.

"Welcome back, Paul."

"Of course, my first patient would be a Cartwright." Seeing Ben's concern, Paul assured him that Hoss would be fine.

Turning his attention to Adam and Roy next, Ben could see they disagreed about something important.

"Ben, I'm trying to tell your son that the best way to handle this is to let Dan DeQuille write up the whole story for the morning edition of the Territorial Enterprise. There's no better way to get the whole truth out there. At this point, we got a lot of angry people thinking Adam here done gunned down a paralyzed man."

Looking at the body covered with a sheet, Ben guessed it had to be Betencourt or the man pretending to be him. "Adam, he's probably right."

"If we do that, the real Betencourt will be warned off and could get away."

"You could draw his picture, couldn't you, son?"

That at least got a bit of a smile from Adam who agreed that he could. Roy asked a deputy to go get some pencils and paper. While he did that, Ben asked what had happened. Hoss took over at that point.

"I guess I oughta be the first to explain, but maybe we should wait for Dan to get here."

There was a commotion outside the room soon after that and they expected Dan, but it was Joe arriving. Once he saw that all members of his family were safe, he was briefed by Ben on what had happened. Soon after that, Dan was in the room and had the basics explained to him, so Hoss started out by explaining what he knew.

"That little guy with glasses came to the house and told me Betencourt wanted to see me. Said he had a change in heart and wanted to settle things once and for all if I would see him today. I rode to town and when I got up here, he said he was a Christian and forgave me but was gonna need some money to take care of himself 'cause of how he was hurt. He said he had heard we had gotten ourselves back on our feet with the bank so maybe I could get some money and we could sign a paper settling everything. He even had that paper there on the table ready to go. The charges were gonna be dropped and everything ifn I could get him fifty thousand dollars."

"Son, the charges were already dropped."

"They was?"

"Yes, Adam and I met with the prosecutor this afternoon, and he dropped them."

"That durn weasel musta known it. Well, I didn't know it. I thought I was takin' care of things. I went to the bank but they didn't have that much cash. They said they could give me ten thousand in cash and a note for the rest or I could go to the branch in Carson City to try to get more cash. I brought what I had back here. He was upset with me, but he offered a drink anyway. That's about all I remember until I woke up when shots were fired."

"That makes more sense then about why he told me he wanted his money. He had some but wanted the forty thousand too. The only way that note could be cashed though was if both Hoss and I were dead. We would have stopped him otherwise. When I got here, he held a gun to Hoss' head and said he would kill him." After recounting the rest of the encounter as Dan wrote furiously, Adam concluded with a question. "Where did Betencourt go?"

Hoss, Joe, and Dan looked confused until Ben took over. "We have had the Pinkerton Detective Agency investigating Denton Betencourt. They sent us a report and it included a physical description of the subject which said he was about five feet two inches tall wearing glasses and is bald."

Hoss frowned. "But this here fella was lots taller than that and had hair."

"Yes, Hoss, the rest of the report told us that he's an actor, Darwin Tate, who was hired to play the role of Betencourt, and from what the investigation revealed so far, he was a very ill man. He couldn't get work in the theatre any more because of his behavior. He spent some time in an institution and apparently convinced them he was well enough to be released. Somehow he and Betencourt hooked up, and he played the greatest role of his life living grandly and acting the role of a wealthy investor. We thought that Roy and the prosecutor would be able to handle it once they were able to see the judge tomorrow morning and get search warrants and arrest warrants. We never expected him to take an action like this, but he must have guessed that we were getting too close to the truth."

While Ben was talking, Adam had been looking around the room and found some papers on the bed. Looking them over, he snorted with derision. "And here's the script although he didn't follow it very well. Apparently he needed a director to keep him on task. It seems the real Betencourt expected a deadly encounter. He probably thought the man would be killed, but I doubt he thought he would give away so many secrets before he did."

Looking up from his notes then, Dan had one question. "So no one was paralyzed?"

Roy gave that answer. "No, it was a scam that two men tried to pull here on us. One of 'em spooked that team, and the other deliberately got in the way of the horses and then acted as if he got seriously hurt."

"How did one spook the team?"

Hoss now understood better than he had. "I saw a flash of light just before the team bolted."

There were a lot of papers on the desk in the room. Adam began rifling through them skimming the writing until he found what he needed. "The evidence is here. According to the notes that were made as instructions for our actor here, after the real Betencourt used the mirror to reflect the sun into the horses eyes, Tate was to stage the accident. Then there are detailed instructions of how to respond to the doctor. Apparently Tate had some drugs that helped him remain motionless too." Handing a sketch of the man to Dan, Adam had one final statement. "If he gets away, this should end up in the paper with your story. I assume it will be picked up by other papers?"

"Oh, this is a great story. There's an excellent possibility of syndication. When you get more information on Betencourt, will you share it so I can do a follow-up story too?"

Looking at Adam and Hoss for their approval, Ben agreed to Dan's request. Dan left then promising a front page story the next morning with a large banner. Then it was a question of how to get Adam out of there when people still didn't know the truth and wouldn't likely know until that story was out in the paper the next morning.

"I think if several of us head on out the front and start answering questions, Adam could head down the back stairs. I can have a deputy have his horse ready for him there."

"Thank you, Roy. I think that will work."

That's what they did, but when Hoss and Ben arrived at the Ponderosa, Adam wasn't there. It didn't take long for them to guess that he had gone after Betencourt. He probably had an idea where he was. Hoss and Juliette were feeling terrible though both knowing they had hurt Adam and now they would have to wait to try to make things better.

Chapter 7

Amazingly, it had not taken long to explain to Juliette what had happened. With such a complicated mess, one might think it would take a long time to explain it, but Ben found the main points were fairly easy to state. Denton Betencourt hired someone to play his role in Virginia City, and he set up Hoss by faking the accident flashing a light with a mirror to spook the horses which probably worked better than he hoped with the team. He had planned to pressure them to get a huge financial settlement and then move on probably to another country before his scam could be exposed. When Ben and Adam had visited him and brought the doctor, and that was after he had learned they had the money for an escrow account, he knew his plan couldn't stand prolonged examination or testing. He decided to try for a quick score before leaving by getting Hoss to procure fifty thousand dollars for him. When Hoss brought only some of the money and a note, he knew the only way to cash that note was if no one knew he had it. He decided on the spot to leave his accomplice in a role to kill Hoss and be killed for doing so guessing that no one would believe any outlandish tale the man could tell. The actor was unhinged anyway and it was a convenient way to get rid of him. How he had managed all of that so quickly they would never know probably unless he decided to confess which was unlikely.

"He was a wealthy man. Why did he need to do this?"

"He was wealthy because he took money from people. He wasn't a very good businessman. He lost much of it and spent lavishly. Apparently he was nearly broke again although he owned a lot of property, he didn't have much cash. He was going to use us to get wealthy again."

When Ben had finished his explanation, the three men were going to go in the house, but Ben paused and let his sons precede him because he had one question for Juliette. "Do you love my son?"

She knew which one he meant. "I do. I got myself confused about things, but I know now that I love him with all my heart and can only hope I haven't ruined things between us."

"I hope you haven't. My son has been hurt too much." With that, Ben too turned to go inside.

Standing on the porch after Hoss, Joe, and Ben left her there alone, Juliette didn't know how to explain to Michael where Adam was. She had no good answer.

Inside, Joe and Hoss found Michael playing with the toy soldiers and told him that Adam was being a hero and going after a bad man.

"The bad man isn't going to hurt Adam, is he?"

"Nah, that durn rascal he's after ain't hardly taller than you. Adam's going to take care of him easy if he catches up to him. He's trying to catch him before he gets away by picking him up by his collar and carrying him back like the rat he is."

"Will Adam be back later?"

Joe sat down next to the boy. "I'm not sure when Adam will be back. How about if we sit here by the fireplace and talk about that while we play some checkers and wait for dinner to be ready. All right?"

"You won't cheat, will you?"

"Nah, I don't cheat. Who says I cheat?" And Joe had succeeded in distracting the boy from the question of where Adam had gone. He looked up at Hoss and inclined his head toward the porch because he figured Hoss had some things he had to say.

Getting the hint, Hoss walked back outside to see why Juliette hadn't come inside yet and found her near tears. "Miss Juliette, Adam's gonna be all right. He knows how ta take care of himself." Pausing and taking a deep breath, he knew it was time to clear the air too. "I got to apologize to ya now though for how I bin acting. I got to apologize ta Adam too when he gits back. What I done wasn't right. I know that now, but it was such fun at first, and then I started getting all these ideas, and I got myself all confused 'bout things."

"Hoss, I have to apologize too. I never should have agreed to do all those things with you and you alone. It gave you the wrong idea. That was my fault."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have bin thinking that way. It's jest that women folk ain't that nice to me that much, and I got carried away thinking more than I shoulda thought 'bout that. When Adam came home and got you upset, well, I stuck my nose in that too and I should not of done that. It wasn't my business to do that. He cares about you an awful lot."

"I know he does, and I may have ruined that."

"How could you have ruined it?"

"Oh, Hoss, I told him he should be more like you, and he knows I like you. He's a proud man, and I came here thinking I would be like some heroine and save the family ranch. My idea was that he would be so impressed by me and praise me, and well, like you did. I was angry at him thinking he was too proud to accept my help when it was my pride that was the big problem. I wanted him to shower me with praise for my actions and when he dared to question me, I reacted with anger. So I had this idea that I would be the heroine, only, it didn't work out that way at all. It was a silly girl's dream, and I'm a woman, but I wasn't thinking like one."

"That's what the argument you had was?"

"Yes, he questioned what I did, and I exploded in anger at him. Well, you know him so you know how he responded. Of course it didn't help that he was exhausted and coming home at the end of not only a hard day but a long ride after several long weeks."

"Yeah, ifn that was me, I woulda bit anybody's head off who pushed me too hard."

"You?"

"What? You don't think I get upset and angry? Listen, I've had to learn over the years to control myself when I do because I can really hurt somebody when I get upset. There are times when I'm like an angry bull. I coulda killed Adam one time when I beat on him when I was mad." Hoss proceeded to tell Juliette about how he had misinterpreted his brother's actions with Regan Miller and then exploded in fury at him when he returned home later. "It was only afterwards that I realized he never fought back. He wouldn't hit me. It's pretty rare that he gets mad enough that he would raise a fist to me or Joe."

"Yes, as upset as he was about this situation, he raced out of here headed to town to help you as soon as he realized you might be in trouble."

"You haven't asked about what happened."

"I guessed you would tell me more when you thought it was time for me to know more than that brief summary Ben gave me. I could tell he was upset and I didn't want to push him. I guess perhaps Michael and I should think about packing our things and going to town tomorrow. It could be very uncomfortable to be here. Oh, Hoss, I hope Adam will come home. I know he talked about how he would like to stretch his wings and travel and do things. I have this image in my mind of him tipping his hat to me and riding away."

"You know, that's not right. You and Adam belong together, and that little boy already is thinking on Adam like his papa. You wait here. I think maybe I got a plan in my head that could work." Hoss walked inside and called to Joe. He pointed at the door. "I figure there's maybe two or three hours of light left. We could be close to Carson City before it got dark. On the road, we could make it without trouble even if we had to go slow those last miles."

Looking up at Hoss, Joe frowned and then pursed his lips as he thought. "You figure that guy headed that way and Adam followed him?"

"I doubt that little weasel could ride very far, and he would have to get out of Virginia City. He likely wouldn't have gotten to Carson City in time to get the train or stagecoach out of there today. He don't know the area well enough to know anywhere else to go. That means he'll be leaving there first thing in the morning. My guess is Adam plans to be there to try to stop him. I reckon we could help him with that." Hoss looked over at his father then. "Pa, I'm aiming to set things right. You take good care of his gal and Michael here. We'll be back tomorrow."

It was late when Hoss and Joe got to Carson City. The livery stables were closed, but they knew the owner of one and were able to get him to open up for a little extra cash. He grumbled only a little and then not at all when they paid him a bit more so they could stay in the loft for the night.

"We'll be leaving early too and don't want to disturb you. So here's payment in advance." Joe put a hand on his shoulder and gave him one of his most friendly smiles.

"All right, but like I told the other one. No lantern in the loft. You kin keep the door open up there that I use to clean out the loft. It'll let in enough air and light."

With that statement, Hoss and Joe looked at each other and grinned. It hadn't taken long to find Adam. They climbed the ladder to find him leaning on an elbow on his bedroll.

"I was hoping to get some sleep tonight. Try not to snore too much, please, and no, I don't want to talk."

With that, he lay back down and closed his eyes. Or at least it seemed he must have for they couldn't see anything shining in the dark. Both rolled out their bedrolls and lay down to do the same for the same reason. They didn't want to go to a hotel because Betencourt might see them and be warned. The next morning, they were up early and saddled their horses and headed to the train station. Hoss asked why and Adam gave the logical answer.

"He didn't buy a ticket on the stagecoach and it's full. I checked. He's not the type to ride up on top."

At the train depot, they were quite early and positioned themselves where they could see passengers preparing to leave but the passengers wouldn't likely see them. Betencourt arrived shortly before the train was to leave hurrying to board and trying his best to look inconspicuous. He was good at that. Adam followed him on board as Hoss moved to make sure the train didn't leave until they had him in custody and off the train. Betencourt got to his seat and was having his ticket marked when he froze with the voice he heard behind him.

"Going somewhere, Betencourt?"

"That's not my name."

"Why did you respond?"

"It is familiar to me because he was my employer. I left his employ yesterday."

"Fine, but he's dead now and the sheriff has a few questions for you."

"You're not the law. I don't have to go with you." He pulled a gun and pointed it at Adam to emphasize the point. Passengers cringed away from the confrontation. Behind him, there was another voice he didn't recognize but a feeling he should. A pistol was pushed into his back.

"I think you need to drop that pistol or you won't live to pull the trigger."

"I could kill him."

"With that little thing? You'd have to be an excellent shot to hit something vital with one shot, and that's the most you're going to get. You might wound him or you might miss entirely, but one guarantee you do have is that you will be dead. Now you can walk out of here with us or be carried out and buried. Your choice." Joe's voice was cold and hard.

Betencourt dropped the pistol. "I should have stuck to puffed up bankers with their grandiose opinions of their cleverness. Who would ever have thought some cowboys from the wilderness would be smarter than they were."

When Adam came forward and picked up the man's pistol, he grabbed his valise. Opening it, he found the ten thousand dollars Hoss had brought to the hotel as well as the note from the bank. It took some time to explain it all to the sheriff in Carson City and then to get a telegram to confirm it all. Finally they rode toward Virginia City with a surly Betencourt on the back of a rented mule with borrowed handcuffs on his wrists. At the livery stable, the sheriff had said they could rent a horse to transport the prisoner. Seeing the mule in the corral, Adam had a question of the livery stable owner.

"Do mules cost the same as horses?"

"Nah, I rent out those ornery cusses at half the price of horses."

"Sheriff, we'll save you some money and rent a mule for the prisoner."

The mule was short and had an uneven gait made worse because it had to hurry to keep up with the three horses the brothers rode. Hoss noted that Adam had a bit of a smirk as he rode looking down on the former tycoon embarrassed to be riding a mule with his hands cuffed and probably dreading the humiliation of riding into Virginia City that way. Leading the mule, Joe looked rather proud to have the deputy badge affixed to his coat. One of them had to agree to be sworn in as a temporary deputy in order to transport the prisoner to Virginia City to turn him over to Roy. So, Hoss and Adam said that earned him the privilege too of leading the mule. They guessed they could be in town by late afternoon.

After offering a detailed apology similar to much of what he had said to Juliette, Hoss told Adam to head directly home though. "Me and Joe can handle this. You got some important things to take care of at home. You got my apology already, but I think there's another one waiting on ya there. Your future could be affected a lot by it so I think ya oughta go find out how things are gonna turn out. Ain't nothing to be gained by you sacrificing what you could have. I figure if you kin let go of what's happened that wasn't so good and hang onto all the good stuff, you kin look ahead."

"Hoss is right, you know. You always tell me how wise our brother is. You've always sacrificed yourself for us and for the ranch. You gave up a lot of your time, your dreams, your investments, and sometimes you even threw yourself into harm's way for us. Now it's time for you to think of what you need and you need to think of that too."

Without saying anything but tipping his hat in acknowledgement that he had heard and understood, Adam turned to do as they suggested and rode for home. They could hope he would do the rest of what they asked him to do. On the ride home, Adam did have a lot of time to think. When he rode into the yard, Ben, Juliette, and Michael came out to greet him.

"We got him. Joe and Hoss are taking him to Roy right now. We got the money back too. It's over."

"Son, I'm proud of you. You did a fine job with everything."

"I'm proud of you too, Adam, whatever you did. Maybe everybody will start smiling again around here." Michael gave a look at his mother then as if to encourage her but she remained silent.

Adam had a few words for Michael though as he stepped close to the boy's mother. "You know there are things you aren't supposed to watch, aren't there?"

Michael nodded. Then suddenly he grinned and grabbed Ben's hand. "C'mon. We gotta go in the house."

When the door closed, Adam stepped close to Juliette who looked worried about what he might say. She was going to say something but he put a finger across her lips to silence her. Instead he put his other hand to her cheek and then dropped one hand to her waist and drew her close. Kissing her forehead first, he trailed kisses down her nose before dropping to her lips and pressed until she responded wrapping her arms around him and playing with the curls at the back of his neck. He didn't release her though when the kiss ended but slid his arm down under her and picked her up carrying her around the house to the garden in back. There he sat on the wide wooden bench that was shielded by a rose arbor. He kept her in his arms and on his lap. It was cool and she shivered so he pulled open his coat and had her snuggle against him and they continued kissing for several more minutes. When they stopped, he held her head against his shoulder and rested his chin on her hair.

"There, now is there anyone else you ever want to kiss like that?"

"No, there is no one but you."

"Don't you ever forget that again."

"I won't."

"You wanted me to respect your opinions. That means we get to discuss things, and it goes both ways. Right?"

"Right."

"If you ever challenge me, expect anger."

"I will."

"It doesn't mean I don't love you."

"I know."

"Is there anything you have to say?"

"Well, there is a very long apology I have to make. But mostly, I want to say I love you."

"Good. I needed to hear that."

"Is that all you're going to do after I say I love you."

"No." There was more kissing then until Adam thought it might be time to stop before he didn't want to stop at all. "I love you."

"I know, and it's not going to be easy for you sometimes. I'm a very smart woman, but I can do some very stupid things. I hope you can forgive me when that happens."

"Maybe if we talk more, it won't happen."

"Adam, when you get to know me better, you may find that I have an ability to outwit common sense. Tobias called me a walnut."

"A walnut?"

"He said I was tough, and tasty, but still a nut."

Inside the house, Ben and Michael heard the laughter. Michael grinned at Ben. "I'm going to have a new Papa and get to live on a ranch!"


End file.
